''Diplodactylus custos'', sometimes called the Kimberley fat-tailed gecko, is a

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

endemic to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Description

The gecko typically has a length from snout to vent of around . It is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

and lays a clutch of two eggs. It belongs to the ''

Diplodactylus conspicillatus The variable fat-tailed gecko or burrow-plug gecko (''Diplodactylus conspicillatus'') is a diplodactylid gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belongi ...

'' group and is one of the larger members. ''D. custos'' has a canthal stripe which is well-defined and an enlarged first supralabial. It has large plate-like mid-dorsal scales on the trunk and smaller

dorsolateral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

scales. The original tail has a short extension at tip that is acute and attenuated. A regenerated tail tends to have a rounder distal end and more uniform scales. The dorsal surface has scales that are arranged in uniform sized transverse rows. The crown and snout have darker pigmentation. The diffuse body pattern can also have wavy, dark transverse bands.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

s Couper, Oliver & Pepper in 2014. The specific epithet is taken from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''custos'' meaning ''guard'' which refers to the

Australian Wildlife Conservancy The Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is an Australian independent, nonprofit organisation, working to conserve threatened wildlife and ecosystems in Australia. This is principally achieved through the acquisition of extensive areas of land ...

's conservation efforts in the Kimberley region where the species in endemic.

Distribution

The gecko is reasonable widespread throughout the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

region in the north west of Australia. Its range extends from Kununurra in the north down to

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

in the south west and

Purnululu National Park The Purnululu National Park is a World Heritage Site in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. The national park is located approximately south of Kununurra, with Halls Creek located to the south. Declared a World Heritage Site in 2 ...

in the south. Specimens have also been found on

Yampi Peninsula Yampi Sound is a part of the Indian Ocean off the coast of north-western Australia, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is located between King Sound and Collier Bay. It lies between the Yampi Peninsula and the islands of the Buc ...

and on

Koolan Island Koolan Island is an island off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia in the Buccaneer Archipelago. It is about north of Perth, and about north of Derby. It hosts deposits of high-grade iron ore. Description The island is approximately i ...

References

Diplodactylus Reptiles described in 2014 Geckos of Australia Taxa named by Patrick J. Couper Taxa named by Paul M. Oliver Taxa named by Mitzy Pepper {{Diplodactylidae-stub